Raleigh, N.C. —North Carolina’s Touchstone Energy cooperatives will be the title sponsor of the National Golf Association (NGA) Hooters Tournament at Brook Valley Country Club in Greenville. NGA officials will announce the debut of the Touchstone Energy Open during a news conference Thursday, February 12, 2004 at 11:00 a.m. at the country club.
The Touchstone Energy Open will be played June 10-13, 2004 at Brook Valley. The tournament will be 72 holes with a 36-hole-cut. The first-place purse will be at least $25,000.
The Ronald McDonald House of Eastern North Carolina is the benefiting charity of the Touchstone Energy Open, according to Michael Davis, General Manager of Tri-County Electric Membership Corporation in Dudley. “North Carolina’s Touchstone Energy cooperatives are proud to assist the Ronald McDonald House that serves eastern North Carolina families,” Davis said.
The Ronald McDonald House of eastern North Carolina provides a “home-away-from-home” for families of seriously ill children treated at University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina’s Children’s Hospital. The Ronald McDonald House serves as a temporary residence near the hospital where family members can sleep, eat, relax and find support. In 2003, the Ronald McDonald House of Eastern North Carolina served 502 families from 42 counties, primarily from the eastern part of the state. “Raising money for the Ronald McDonald House through the Touchstone Energy Open is a great partnership for the 850,000 members of the state’s electric cooperatives,” Davis said.
The NGA Hooters Golf Tour is a developmental tour for rising stars. David Toms, Jim Furyk, Tom Leyman, Chad Campbell and Ben Curtis are among today’s PGA players who got their start on the NGA Hooters Tour Alumni of the Hooters Tour have won eight majors.
“It is very exciting for North Carolina’s Touchstone Energy cooperatives to bring professional golf and tourism to the eastern part of the state,” Davis added.
North Carolina’s electric cooperatives serve more than 2.5 million people in 93 of the state’s 100 counties.